Fuel heater for internal-combustion engines



Sept. 4, 1923.

A. B. BROLUSKA ET AL FUEL HEATER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES FiledMarch 8 Jim-23 Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

Ultra!) stares OFFICE.

MEL B. BROLUSKA AND HARRY A. BROLUSKA, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNORSOF ONE-THIRD T0 CYRIL CAILLIAU, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FUEL HEATER FOR INTERNALCOMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed March 8,

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that we, AMEL B. BROLUSKA and HARRY A. BROLUSKA, citizens ofthe United States, and residing at Detroit, county of lVayne, and Stateof Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Fuel Heater. forInternal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for heating the fuel of internalcombustion engines by means of exhaust ases, and its object is toprovide a device 0 this character which shall be of maximum capacity andwhich may be automatically controlled.

This invention consists in combination with the exhaust andintakemanifold of an internal combustion engine, of means for securing saidmanifolds to each other, the intake manifold being formed with a seriesof concentric passages and the wall between the intake manifold and theexhaust manifold bein formed with a series of ports so that one halfthese concentric passages may communicate with the exhaust manifold andreceive hot exhaust gases therefrom, of a slidablevalve for opening andclosing these ports, and a thermostat controlled by the temperature ofthe fuel passing through the intake manifold for operating said shdablevalve. i

This invention further consists in providing an auxiliary carbureter forfeeding unheated fuel to the intake manifold.

This inv ntion alsoconsists in the details of constru tion illustratedin the accom panying drawing and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a sigle elevation of an engine equipped withour improved fuel heating device. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 ofFig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 3-3 and 4--4 of Fi 2.

Similar reference characters refer to dike parts throughout the severalviews.

The engine 1 shown conventionally inthe drawing is provided with-acylinder block 2 and may be of any desired construction. As indicated inFig. 4 it has four exhaust ports 3 and four intake orts 4..' The exhaustmanifold 5 is secure to this engine in any desired manner, while theintake manifold is formed of two parts, an upper part 6 which is madeintegral with the exhaust manifold 5 and a detachable portion 7 which issecured to the body of the exhaust 1920. Serial No. 364,047.

manifold by means of bolts 8. This portion 7 constitutes the fuel heaterand will be so termed. 4

This fuel heater is substantially semi-circular in cross section andcomprises the passages 9 through which the fuel may flow to' the engineand other passages 10 for the exhaust gases. A carbureter 11 isconnected to the lower end of this heater and may be of any desiredconstruction, this invention having nothing to do with the carburetingof the fuel. Screens 12 and 13 may be placed above and below theheater-proper in order to break up such particles of liquid as may passup.

The inner wall 14 of the heater 7 is formed with a series of small ports15 preferably rectangular, and slidable adjacent to this wall is a valveplate 16 provided with similar apertures 17. Mounted in the exhaustpamge is a shaft 18 on which is secured a gear wheel 19 which mesheswith rack teeth 20formed on this valve plate 16. The shaft 18 may beturned by means of a crank arm 22 and a link 23 extending down from athermostat.

Mounted in the wall at the upper end of the intake passage 7 above thescreen 12 is cured to this shaft 2a is a crank arm 26;

whose outer end connects to this link 23.

The several parts are normally in the pos tion shown in the drawing. Asthe engine begins to'run, exhaust gases will be discharged through theports '3 into the 'exhaust passage 5 and a portion of them will passinto the passages 10 through the ports 15 and 17, heating the walls ofthe passages 9, which in turn will heat the fuel as it passes up throu hthe passages 9 to the intake ports 4. on these passages 9 and the fuelbeoome hotter than the desired temperature, the thermostat 25 will beaffected thereby and turn the shaft 24 to move the. valve plate 16 toclose the small ports 15 leading to the passages 10 of'the heater. Thetemperature to which the fuel may raised will, of course, depend u n theconstruction and position of the] t ermostat.

' In Fig. 1 we have shown a special fuel tank 30 and a carbureter 31 forsupplying fuel of a different character to the top of the chamber I. Avalve 33 between the carbureter 31 and the intake passage may be used tocut out this supply. The pipe 34: leading from the carburetor to theintake manifold is preferably formed with an enlargement 35 in which ascreen 36 is mouut ed to break up the liquid particles, if any, whichpass down through the pipe M. The fuel which passes to the intakemanifold from the carbureter ill will preferably be cold. in this mannera richer or leaner mixture can be supplied to the engine by merelyoperating the valve 33.

It may be desired to heat the fuel passages 5) before the engine has hadtime to Warm up, and any desired means may be employed for this purpose.five prefer, however, to use a coil 37 of proper resistance Wire Whichmay be connected to any proper source of supply by means of the Wires 38and 89. and this coil will be enclosed in a case at!) to prevent loss ofheat. Any desired means for insulating the Wire may be employed.

The details and proportions of this fuel heater may all be changed bythose skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of ourinvention as set forth in the following claims.

\Ve claim 1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of anexhaust manifold, an intake manifold and a fuel heater connectedthereto, said heater comprising a plurality of fuel passages and aplurality of exhaust passages, all having a common Wall provided withopenings to permit the flow of exhaust gases to a portion of saidpassages, and a valve slidable on said wall to control the flow ofexhaust gases.

2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of an exhaustmanifold, an intake manifold, a fuel heater connecting to saidmanifolds, a carbureter connected to the fuel heater, said fuel heatercomprising a series of parallel passages, a portion of said passagesbeing for the fuel and a portion for the exhaust, one Wall of saidheater being formed with ports connecting the exhaust manifold toalternate parallel passages, and means for opening and closing saidports.

3. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of an exhaustpassage, an intake manifold, a fuel heater connected thereto and acarbureter connected to the fuel heater, said fuel heater comprising aseries of semi-cylindrical passages. said heater being formed with portsopening into the exhaust passage and into alternate semieyliudricalpassages, and means for opening and closing said ports comprising aslidable plate having apertures to register with said ports.

4. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of an exhaustpassage, an intake manifold, a fuel heater connected thereto and acarbureter connected to the fuel heater, said fuel heater comprising aseries of semi-cylindrical passages-said heater being formed with portsopening into the exhaust passage and into alternate semi-cylindricalpassages, means for opening and closing said ports comprising a slidableplate having apertures to register with said ports, and means controlledby the temperature of the fuel as it leaves the heater for positioningsaid plate.

5. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of an exhaustpassage, an in take manifold, a fuel heater connected thereto and ac-arbureter connected to the fuel heater, said fuel heater comprising aseries of semi-cylindrical passages, said heater being formed with portsopening into the exhaust passage and into alternate semi-cylindricalpassages, means for open ing and closing said ports comprising aslidable plate having apertures to register with said ports, and meanscontrolled by the temperature of the fuel as it leaves the heater forpositioning said plate and comprising a thermostat and means connectingit to said plate.

' AMEL B. BROLUSKA.

HARRY A. BROLUSKA.

